Busy, busy

Just a quick update while we are waiting for a train back to London. We spent much of yesterday at the British Museum, then hit a couple pubs and went to the theatre in the evening. Today we went out to Hampton Court, home of Henry VIII, and later William & Mary. Beautiful gardens, interesting place, and a perfect day for it all.

Saw a Border Collie today and Clay saw a pair of boxers. We also saw a dog walker with about four different dogs in tow.

It appears that Annie has been adopted in my absence, as I knew she would be. That was in the works with her new foster even before we left. I knew they would get her adopted quickly, and I'm sure she went to a good home.

We are off to see War Horse this evening, hopefully with time for a pub or two before.

The picture is one of the smaller gardens at Hampton Court, but the prettiest.

Cambridge

We went on a tour of Cambridge today, leaving early this morning and returning just in time to get to the theatre this evening. Beautiful, historic, and interesting place. A river runs through it with gondola-like boats you can hire for a pleasant trip under numerous scenic bridges. Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, and more Nobel Prize winners than you can imagine have learned, lived, and taught here.

Imagine my horror as a native Kansan when the guide mentioned the Kansas board of education's flirtation with teaching religious myths in schools just a few years back. Apparently not all Christians have a problem with science. (Who knew?) That particular form of lunacy seems to be unique to the Republican tea-bagger party back home.

This evening we saw Jude Law in Eugene O'Neil's "Anna Christie" at the Dunmar. That was a very sought-after ticket in this town and it was a very good production. The entire run of the show had sold out the first day tickets had gone on sale, but Clay managed to snag two house seats that were released just shortly before our trip.

A very full day, but a good one. Saw a Bernese Mountain Dog and a couple mutts in Cambridge today, a shar-pei and a King Charles Spaniel in a pub and a Rottweiler mix (with a street person) last night.

Hurricane Katia came across the Atlantic and is really kicking up some wind, but fortunately, not much rain.

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London dogs

The photo is for Beth, who once asked someone to send a pic of a London phone booth, hope she sees this.

I know that not everyone is on Facebook, where I've already posted a couple updates, so I thought I should do one here as well.

Having a great time, obviously. The iPad takes pictures but not as easily as the camera, so I will post more pics upon my return.

The first dog we saw in London was a pit bull, very cute and sweet. We saw a yellow lab service dog as well, and several more (mostly mutts) since then. Today we saw a Staffordshire Terrier, and a dachshund (thought about you, Rebecca).

One of the best things about this country is the fact that you can take your dog into your local pub. In the US you can carry a gun into a bar but not your dog. That's just stupid.


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And then there were nine

Duchess (left) and Candy (right)
Big dogs in small packages

As of last night we had only nine dogs, our own six and just three fosters. I realize that seems like a lot of dogs to most people, but it feels practically desserted around here. Four more dogs moved out yesterday to at least temporary foster homes.

Candy went to the home of the adopters of former foster Duchess.  The two dogs are about the same size and both are very cute.  They will need a few days to work out the terms of their new relationship, and Candy has a lot of learn about a lot of things, but I have every reason to believe this will translate into a permanent adoption, not just a temporary foster arrangement.
 

Ryland after his bath

My boy Ryland went home with folks who have adopted three of their four current dogs from me, so you can safely assume that I think very highly of them.  Ryland's stay with them started out with a bath, which he wasn't crazy about, but it's a small price to pay for a comfy place to stay for the next couple of weeks. 

I'm growing more and more fond of Ryland.  He's the only foster dog that has bedroom privileges in our house.  The fact that I'm getting attached means that he's going to need to go to a really good home.  Amazingly, I had an email inquiring about Ryland this evening.  It sounds good too, so he may have a prospect when he gets back here after our vacation.  The Vegetarian Festival is the Saturday after we return too, and that has sometimes netted some very good animal friendly adopters. 

Riddle went to a foster home, the same one who took that long haired shepherd I pulled from Nelson County a few weeks ago.  She does a lot of home visits and case working for VGSR adopters, so I'm confident that she will find him an adopter.  I didn't ever put Riddle on the website because I knew I didn't have time to handle all the inquiries he would generate. 

He enjoyed a bullystick on the drive home and later just laid down and napped. 

Thora also went to another foster home.  Her foster came to my place and picked her up.  They stopped at a river for a swim on the way home and sent a pic to my cell phone, but I have never figured out how to get a cell phone picture onto the computer.  So, this is a file photo of Thora.  She's looking better and feeling better.  Her skin is back to normal, no longer red and inflamed and she's not itchy.  She is putting on weight nicely.  When I get back from vacation I'll get her spayed and then get to work on finding her an adopter. 

Today and tomorrow are all about making lists and crossing items off the list as we get ready to go.   The dogs are now down to a manageable number and that takes a huge load off my mind.  The housesitter still has enough shepherds and rottweilers around here to keep the deer and rabbits at bay. 

I will trying blogging from England but Facebook may be easier to update, we will see. 

Getting it together

I always wonder if all the things that need to be done before going on vacation can possibly get done.  Partly that's because I set vacation time as the deadline for many things that don't really have anything to do with vacation, like cleaning the house (I hate the thought of coming home to a dirty house), going to the dump, cutting the pasture, spaying weeds, etc.  If I had anything to do with planning the vacation itself it would probably never happen, there would always be more things that need to be done first. 

I feel that we made real progress today on several fronts.  I got our trash to the dump, we did some shopping for the trip, but more importantly, we got Schatze adopted. 



We met the adopter just off of I-64 at the Toano exit, between Richmond and Williamsburg.  He had met Schatze before.  She rode quietly in the van as she always does.  There was a lot of activity at the McDonalds where we met, and in true female shepherd form, she took it all in, alert and observing everything, probably planning out in her head how she would handle and organize all the people if given the chance.  She hopped into his Jeep Wrangler (I had Jeep envy), and off they went. 

He wants a companion and so does she.  She really wants a one-on-one relationship with her person.  Her attachment to me as her foster was extraordinary, and I really didn't do anything to encourage it.  Show this dog some care and attention and she will repay it 10 times over with her loyalty and devotion.  I think, I hope, this will be a good thing for both of them. 

Friday

This post has no coherent theme, just a string of rather unrelated news and events.  That's pretty much been my day today as well, trying to work, take care of dogs, and getting stuff done before vacation.  So, with no particular order, here's what I've got today.

This is Odie, a nice big bi-color that I adopted out a few weeks ago.  It doesn't show too well in this picture, but that's a cat curled up in his food dish, and it wasn't his dinner. 

So Odie is doing fine with the cat, and he's putting on some weight, which he needed, and is beginning to show his playful side.  He's got a boy to call his own, who is just the right age to have a dog like Odie. 

Yesterday's shameless plea netted me another temporary foster home, for Ryland.  I'm very happy about that because Ry has really taken to being an indoor dog and I think he will fit in well where he's going as a temporary foster.  All of the dogs going to temporary foster homes will benefit from the experience and will be more adoptable as a result of it.

That gets me down to just three foster dogs, Bo, Sparky, and Gypsy Jr., that will stay here along with our dogs to protect the housesitter without overwhelming him.  That's still 9 dogs, mind you, but that's a lot less than I usually have to deal with when going out of town. 

This is a photo and email I was really happy to get.  This is the Tessa who was returned to me reportedly due to aggression problems.   She is vocal, they say, and plays rougher than some dogs, but she hasn't had any problems in her new home, except that her humans can't always figure out when she needs to go outside.  They are still in training.  They call her "Hurricane Tessa."  They have another shepherd as you can see from the photo, (I can't remember is name right now), and I'm sure he's exhausted from playing with her.  She obviously looks very well settled in and comfortable in her new home. 

Tomorrow morning, it's Schatze's turn for a new home.  She now insists upon coming inside, after just a brief time outdoors.  She's happy in her crate up here in the office all day.  She is ready for a home and I think she will be very happy with her new one.

I ran across this today, and thought to myself, "I resemble that remark." 

On a roll

A couple weeks ago I had a dozen fosters.  Right now I'm at eight.  Thora and Riddle are going to temporary foster homes.  I expect Riddle to be adopted before I return.  I probably could have placed him myself but I never put him on the website.  We are meeting Schatze's adopter on Saturday.  I sent out a foster plea for Candy and had a couple responses, but one was from a former adopter and they are interested in Candy as a new addition to their family.  We are working out the arrangements for a meeting this weekend. 

That leaves me with just four fosters--the two rotties, Sparky and Bo, plus Gyspy Jr. and Ryland. 

I can't really place Sparky with anyone who doesn't know rotties and doesn't know him.  Bo is recovering from heartworm treatment is doing fine, but kennelling him is probably best for him in order to restrict his activity.  That leaves Gypsy Jr. and Ryland.  Since I've had so much luck farming out the others in advance of this trip, I figured I'd take a shot on these two as well. 

Gypsy Jr. (I only use the "Jr." around here out of respect for my old girl, Gypsy), is a mutt.  She's probably part lab and parts of many other things.  The mix came out looking like an Anatolian Shepherd in terms of marking and coloring, but I don't really have any reason to believe that's what she is.  She's a mutt and she's a pup.  She's wild, unruly, and untrained.  She is sweet, but she's also very full of herself and bossy with other dogs, and food aggressive at feeding time.  That's not a problem with me, and I can make her sit and wait for a signal before going for her food, and I can take food away from her, but she will try to steal other dogs' food.  She doesn't try for Sparky's food anymore, however, and I owe him for teaching her that. 

I had her at an adoption event last weekend and she enjoyed it and was good with everyone, human and canine.  I can not imagine that she would be cat-friendly. 

Basically she's a pup and she's a project.  She will grow into a fine dog with proper care and (firm) handling. 

And then there's Ry.  He's got this "just let me do what I want and we will get along fine" attitude that really reminds me of a rottweiler.  Ryland is really low maintenance, laid back.  He will crate, or he will camp out on a dog bed.  I'm pretty sure he'd love a spot on a sofa.  Just don't expect him to come when called, to chase a ball, or do other silly "dog" things.